Much bad news this week. Our Library doesn't allow staff to create or write blogs, however we can read them and post to them. This is in part due to regulations that state that any staff produced information must be housed on city computers. This is to avoid the possibility of someone hacking into our library's MySpace page, or our library's Learning 2.0 blog and putting up child pornography or something. If that were to happen we would have a history on our own computers showing that our site never had that kind of information and we wouldn't be dragged through quite as much mud. After yesterday's discussion with my boss, I believe that even this "under the radar" blog is in violation of this kind of policy.
In my defense I've tried hard not to brand this blog with my employer's logo or name, I've made it non-searchable so only those that know the URL can find it, and I've only posted to it off city time. However I'm sorry to say I think I'm going to have to bring this blog to an end.
I know there are only a few of you who subscribe to this blog and I'd like to thank you for your encouragement and energy. Library employees; you have access to it on Staff Source; for the others who are interested I'll keep you on my email list for postings.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Thursday, January 4, 2007
What should a library website look like?
What should a library website look like? What should it feature? More than just library programs, events, databases and services that's for sure. It should bring the world to library patrons and make them feel a part of it.
Sure, showing off what our library can offer is good but a website is an opportunity to create a community feeling. It's an opportunity to grab the patron before they are lost in their search and offer them something new.
So, how can we be sure that we are featuring content on our library's website that is topical and of general interest to many communities? Yes, January can be topics like renewal, getting healthy, keeping your resolutions, cleaning out the garage and getting organized. But how can we do that at a moment's notice and keep the quality up at the same time? By planning in advance. After Endeca has launched and is running smoothly, please share your ideas for fresh interesting content with me and the web team. We'll be looking for good ideas.
Sure, showing off what our library can offer is good but a website is an opportunity to create a community feeling. It's an opportunity to grab the patron before they are lost in their search and offer them something new.
So, how can we be sure that we are featuring content on our library's website that is topical and of general interest to many communities? Yes, January can be topics like renewal, getting healthy, keeping your resolutions, cleaning out the garage and getting organized. But how can we do that at a moment's notice and keep the quality up at the same time? By planning in advance. After Endeca has launched and is running smoothly, please share your ideas for fresh interesting content with me and the web team. We'll be looking for good ideas.
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